


The Art of Escaping Incompetent Kidnappers

by Triangulum



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Kidnapping, Pre-Relationship, Road Trips, of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 13:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17582114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triangulum/pseuds/Triangulum
Summary: Darcy sighs and turns around, taking in her little cell. The walls are thick cement from the look of them, no windows, not vents, nothing but the reinforced door that's locked behind her. There's a tiny cot and a man slumped against the far wall. His posture is casual, but his eyes are alert, staring at her intently.There's a jolt of fear in Darcy's stomach because that's him. That's the Winter Solider Steve and Sam have been looking for for months. She can only blame the thrill of fear and a complete lack of self preservation for what she says next."Sup, wintergreen?"OrDarcy is getting really tired of being kidnapped. At least she has a cellmate this time.





	The Art of Escaping Incompetent Kidnappers

Darcy is tired, okay? She is so, so tired of being kidnapped. Or people attempting to kidnap her. It's the third attempt this month, but it's the first one they succeeded in. She should get like a punch card. 

She's assuming "they" are HYDRA, or whatever's left of it since Captain America burned their playground down. She doesn't know what they want, though it probably has something to do with Jane. Or Steve. Or Thor. Or Tony. Really, it's a crapshoot when she works with as many Avengers and adjacent people as she does.

The masked goons that have her hands ziptied (her hands were free until she tased one of them in the balls. They hadn't liked that.) drag her down the hall, hands on her upper arms. She considers being contrary and just dragging her feet, but their tempers aren't at their best and she doesn't need another hit to the face. The bruise she's gonna have will be epic enough as it is.

They're underground in a small, dimly lit hallway. She barely has to time to make out that there are two doors before the goon is slamming his fist against one. 

"Get back!" he barks at whoever is inside, raising his gun. 

Darcy can't see through the dingy little window, but whoever he was yelling at must have listened because he yanks the door open, the other goon shoves her inside, then the door slams closed behind her before she can do anything. She turns around and kicks at the door angrily, which really only gives her a stubbed toe because her Doc Martens aren't as new as they used to be.

"Thor is gonna smite the shit out of you assholes!" she shouts. Which is true enough. If Thor and Jane have noticed she's gone, that is. Perfect.

Darcy sighs and turns around, taking in her little cell. The walls are thick cement from the look of them, no windows, not vents, nothing but the reinforced door that's locked behind her. There's a tiny cot and a man slumped against the far wall. His posture is casual, but his eyes are alert, staring at her intently.

There's a jolt of fear in Darcy's stomach because that's him. That's the Winter Solider Steve and Sam have been looking for for months. She can only blame the thrill of fear and a complete lack of self preservation for what she says next.

"Sup, wintergreen?"

He doesn't move a muscle except to blink at her, long and slow. Well, at least he didn't break her legs, that's cool.

"All right, so I guess I'm really fucked if you're here," she says, pacing around the room. "I mean, no offense, I don't know if you're on the HYDRA wagon right now, but either way, if we're locked in a cell that _you_ can't get out of, I'm fucked no matter what."

Darcy's voice is getting higher and more frantic as she works herself up, which she knows is a signal of an impending panic attack, but shutting up is hard.

"Okay, it's fine, Jane will notice I'm gone eventually...hopefully I won't be murdered before then, oh god I'm gonna die in this cell," she says. "All because I didn't have any doughnuts left. Really? I'm going to die because of doughnuts? Goddamn it."

"I'm not," he says, startling Darcy out of her pacing. His voice is rough, like he hasn't used it in a while, but she likes it. It takes her a few seconds of looking at him in surprise to remember he said something.

"What?" she asks.

"I'm not on 'the HYDRA wagon'," he says, frowning a bit.

"Oh. Good!" she says, giving him two thumbs up. God, what the fuck, Darcy? She drops her hands quickly, wishing she were wearing jeans instead of leggings so she'd have pockets she could shove them into. And that her hands weren't tied. Damn it. "That's good, uh, good for you."

There's a small quirk at the corner of his lips that might be the beginning of a smile, but it's dark in here, so who knows. 

"I wouldn't say being locked in a cell is good, but given the alternative, yeah, all right," he says. 

Darcy lets out a slightly hysterical little laugh, because okay, good, sass she can deal with. She sighs and slides down against the wall across from him. The cell is small enough that if she stretched out her legs, she'd be able to kick his feet. 

"Please tell me they believe in bathroom breaks," Darcy asks. He grimaces slightly and points to the far corner where, yep, that's a bucket. "Fucking hell. I better get hazard pay for this."

"I guess prisoner hygiene isn't that far up on their list of concerns," he says.

"Motherfuckers," Darcy says. Well, at least she isn't on her period, miracle of miracles. That hadn't been fun last time. "Fine. So, what do you want me to call you?"

"What?"

"I figure Mr. Winter Soldier isn't really what you wanna go by," she says.

He doesn't move a muscle, but she has the feeling she startled him. "You know who I am," he says slowly, like he's reevaluating if she's a threat. Ha, way off base, buddy. She was almost taken out tripping over her own shoes last week.

"Uh, yeah, duh, Steve's been spending every waking moment looking for you," she says.

"You know Steve?" he asks, sitting up straighter.

"Yeah, I mean, kinda. I met him a few times. My boss' boyfriend works with him sometimes," Darcy says. "We're kinda staying with the Avengers at their tower right now because Thor's scared someone's gonna make a grab for Jane. Which, given my present circumstances, is fair."

He frowns slightly, like he's trying to parse what this new information means. 

"So what is it?" she asks. "Are you using Bucky?"

He shakes his head. "No, I'm not...I'm not him anymore. Yet. I don't know," he says. He hesitates for a second then says, "James."

"I'm Darcy. Nice to meet you, James. Circumstances not withstanding and all," she says. "I'd shake your hand but they're kinda stuck together, and I'm pretty sure my ankle is a bit fucked and I'm not standing if I don't have to."

"I can take a look if you want," he offers.

"Secretly a doctor, too?" she asks. "A man of many talents."

"No," he says. "But I've had to stitch myself up enough in the field to know some stuff. And...I think others maybe. In the war."

Darcy doesn't have any idea what to say to that, so she does something completely out of character and stays silent. She slowly straightens her legs, wincing when her heel skids a bit on the concrete, making her ankle ache. James moves forward, kneeling next to her and slowly moving his hands toward her, like she's a spooked horse or some shit. She appreciates it, but honestly if he wanted to kill her, she knows it would be over in a second.

"Feel free," she says, gesturing with her hands. 

James touches her calf with gentle fingers, moving them down slowly. "Let me know when I get to where it hurts," he says. She nods. Darcy hisses when his fingers get a few inches above her ankle, jerking a bit. "Sorry," he murmurs. "There?"

"Yeah," she says.

James touches her as lightly as possible, both metal and flesh fingers gently moving over her ankle. He's careful, but there are still occasional jolts of pain. "Sorry," he murmurs. "It's not broken, but you did give it a good sprain."

"Great," she sighs, letting her head thunk against the wall, then groaning and rubbing the sore spot. "I guess no daring sprint to escape for me."

James doesn't say anything, standing and walking over to the bed. He grabs what she thinks is a sweatshirt and in one tug, rips the arm off it completely. Whoa.

"It should be wrapped," he says by way of explanation, kneeling back down next to her. 

"Yeah, I can't really see them tossing in a first aid kit," she says.

James rolls up the leg of her leggings up to her upper calf, and she's stoked this pair has good elasticity, and starts wrapping the sleeve tightly around her swollen ankle. She hisses but doesn't jerk away. She's pretty sure the dude who's survived this long has a better idea about first aid than her.

"It'd be better if I could wrap it around your foot too, but you shouldn't be barefoot if we need a daring sprint escape," he says, smiling slightly. "Give me your hands so I can break the zip tie."

"You got a plan to get us out of here, sergeant?" she asks, sticking her arms out.

"Working on it, doll," he says. "This might not feel great." He has to push a couple metal fingers under the zip tie to get a good grip before he snaps it off. Yeah, not great, but she likes having use of her hands.

"Dude, you keep talking all old fashioned to me and I'll have a heart attack before we even get out of here," she says, fanning herself dramatically with her free hands. He looks confused so she just shakes her head. "Never mind, not important. Go ahead and work on it, let me know how I can help."

She ends up 'helping' by falling asleep. What? Getting kidnapped is exhausting, okay? If this were her first rodeo, the fear and terror may have kept her awake, but adrenaline is only going so far at this point. The third time she nods off against the wall, chin hitting her chest and jerking her awake, James points to the cot and all but orders her to lie down. She'd argue, because it's what she does, but like she said, tired. 

She wakes up when there's a loud clang and scrape, sitting up quickly, and backing up on the cot, her back against the wall. It takes a second for her to realize the noise was food being shoved in the cell and the door slammed closed again. She groans, rubbing her eyes.

"How long was I asleep?" she asks. James is crouched over the food, checking it over carefully. She doubts HYDRA would bother to poison them if they're already locked up, but hey, he's the expert here. 

"Couple of hours," James says. Apparently the food is safe because he tosses her one of the two bottles of water. She bobbles it but manages to catch it, glaring at him. He just smirks. "I hope you like protein bars."

"It was stale bread last time, so I'll take a bar," she says, taking the PowerBar from him.

"Last time?"

"I was kidnapped a month ago," Darcy says, tearing the bar open. Gross, she hates the chocolate ones. "Just run of the mill baddies trying to get extortion money from the Avengers. I was out in like three hours." 

"You're very relaxed about your kidnapping," James says.

"It's my unhealthy coping mechanism," Darcy says, taking a bite. "Ignore it or make jokes until it goes away, until the joke's on me and I wake up in the middle of the night screaming like a small child. We aren't there yet, though. Repression all the way."

"Healthy," he says with a snort.

"Obviously," she says.

She opens her mouth to say something else but James shushes her, standing quickly. He tilts his head like he's listening to something she can't hear. A few seconds pass and she can hear the voices outside the door now, but she can't make out what they're saying. She has a feeling James can though, judging by the grim look on his face.

James motions her over quickly and she goes, hobbling across the room as best she can. He tugs her behind him, putting himself between her and the door. He puts his finger to his lips to make sure she stays quiet, then leans in, lips near her ear.

"We're going now," he whispers. "Stay behind me, stay low, follow my instructions. If something happens to me, head east until you hit the closest town."

"What? Wait, which way is east?!" 

James just rolls his eyes, which is _not_ helpful because she still doesn't know which way east is, but she doesn't have time to argue because the door is opening. James yanks it open before slamming it against the head of the first goon trying to make his way in, making him drop to the floor in a heap.

There's a shout and someone fires a gun, but she can't see who from behind the bulk of James' body. He reaches out lightning fast, then the second man is falling to the ground, neck bent at a truly gross angle. Honestly though, her gross meter about dead people isn't super sensitive anymore, so whatever.

James grabs what weapons he can off their bodies, then glances at her. "Do you know how to shoot?" he asks. When she nods, he hands her a pistol. She checks the clip to see how many shots she has and he watches her, nodding in approval. "Come on."

The fall of HYDRA must have really hit their ranks hard because the shitty base is mostly deserted. They run into only two more people, men James quickly dispatches, before they find the exit. Darcy is exhausted, her ankle is throbbing and giving her a ridiculous limp, but the adrenaline is keeping her going.

They're almost there, she can see light out the doorway ahead, when a loud voice calls, _"Soldat!"_ from behind them. James whirls around, shoving her behind him. She winces as it makes her ankle twist, but doesn't say anything. The line of his back is tense, tenser than it's been the whole time she's been with him, and she immediately knows she's in trouble, despite the fact that the man is twenty yards away and seemingly unarmed. 

"No," James says, shaking his head. He backs up, one hand behind him to guide Darcy. "No."

The man starts spitting out words in what Darcy is pretty sure is Russian, though she can't identify what's being said at all. James is shaking his head, looking like someone with water in their ears. He's still backing them toward the door, but the HYDRA man is advancing, too, and quicker than she and James are moving.

The words are getting louder and James is getting tenser, and Darcy has a sick feeling she knows why. Steve had mentioned Hydra conditioning, but she hadn't really thought about how it worked. She has a feeling she's about to find out because the man finishes the final word loudly and James stills in front of her, all of his attention on the man in front of them. She can only see part of his face, but his eyes look blank, his face impassive, and fuck she's in trouble. So this is the Winter Soldier.

The man barks something in Russian and James turns to her, face cold. Shit. More Russian and James is tightening his grip on his gun. Shit shit shit. More Russian, sounding angry now, gesturing at her. She has the distinct feeling he's being told to kill her, but he's frowning slightly, looking down at the gun then at her.

"James," she says quietly, voice pleading.

_"Soldat!"_

"James, you said we need to go," she says, keeping her voice soft. "Remember? Heading east?"

"Follow your orders!" the HYDRA man shouts.

"Please," she says. He looks at her, really looks at her, taking in the way her hands are shaking, how she's biting her lip, her wide and frightened eyes. The gun in her hand is pointed at the ground, not at him. His eyes linger on that. She thinks there's a small, tiny spark of recognition.

_"Soldat!_ Kill - "

James spins and fires, shooting the HYDRA man in the throat, then twice in the head. She jumps, but doesn't scream. James whirls and grabs her hand, tugging her toward the exit. Her ankle is screaming in pain, but she doesn't dare to stop, letting him pull her through the door and into the chilly air outside.

James still doesn't look completely himself, face cold one second, confused the next, but he doesn't let go of her hand as he pulls her through the trees outside the facility, slowing a bit for her limp that's definitely getting worse as time goes on. He only lets go when they reach a treeline and they stop. He doesn't say anything, staring out at the road outside, before turning to her. He frowns down at her.

"James?" she asks tentatively. 

"Stay here," he says. "I'll be back."

Before she can say anything, he's gone, running along the treeline and out of sight. Sure, super, stay right here, thanks for the advice, Mr. Assassin. Not like she could exactly run the mile right now. 

He doesn't make her wait long, which is great because the adrenaline crash is definitely incoming. Maybe ten minutes later, a black SUV with tinted windows is pulling over on the side of the road, right in front of where she is in the trees. He rolls down the window enough that she can see his face and beckons her forward. 

On the one hand, her parents always had very specific things to say about getting into cars with strange men, especially heavily-armed strange men. On the other, he just saved her life more than once. She isn't sure if he's still the Winter Soldier or if he's back to James, but both seemed willing to keep her alive so she says fuck it and limps out of the trees as quickly as she can, climbing into the SUV.

He starts driving as soon as she closes the door, watching the mirrors closely for any sign that they're being followed. She doesn't say anything at first, just puts on her seat belt and watches him. He looks pained and she can't tell if it's physical or mental. She hopes he isn't secretly bleeding out.

"Are you okay?" he asks, his rough voice making her jump.

"Yeah," she says, nodding. "I think so. Are you?"

"Yes," he says.

"Good, that's good," she says, and oh, look at that, she's still nodding. Good, edging toward hysterical then. "Not to be a dick, but, uh, is it James I'm talking to? Oooor....?"

"It's James," he says. "It's...Their programming is deteriorating. Each time I break free it gets a little easier." He glances over as they turn down another street, empty except for the tall grass on each side of the road and the little farmhouse up ahead. "I'm not gonna hurt you," he says, voice straining like he's desperate for her to know that. "Even when I was _him_ , I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know," she says, and that's a hell of a thing, she does know that. He's had every opportunity to kill her, was even ordered to, and he saved her life instead. She tries to relax into the seat, tries to ignore the way her hands are shaking. "So what do we do now?"

James frowns at the road in front of them, glaring at the farmhouse they pass. "We're going to a safehouse," he says. "We'll decide our next move from there."

Darcy nods. "Is it a you safehouse, or is it one HYDRA's gonna crash? No offense, I know this is kinda your thing, I'm just nosy."

"It's mine," he says. "HYDRA doesn't know."

"This isn't the first time you've broken programming," Darcy says softly. "Even before DC and all that."

"No, it isn't."

James drives for an hour before they switch cars, taking a deep blue sedan and driving west for twenty minutes before heading north again, where they switch cars again. And by switch, she definitely means that James steals another car. Just so she's clear.

She dozes for a bit, the anxiety and adrenaline crash hitting her enough that she can't keep her eyes open. Her eyes flutter open occasionally, giving her a glimpse of the small town they pass through or the trees whipping past. She doesn't wake up completely until they pull into the driveway of small, rundown house

"We're here," James says, gently touching her thigh to wake her up.

It's small and inconspicuous. Not the nicest house on the block but not the worst. James gets out first, checking the house is still secure before coming back to get her. He points out the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom before pressing a gun into her hand, telling her he has to go ditch the car.

"Shoot anyone that walks through that door that isn't me," he says. She nods. He gives her a long look before he leaves.

In general, Darcy doesn't do waiting very well, never has. Whether it be Christmas, her birthday, Auntie Terri coming to visit, she's always been bad at waiting. So she raids his kitchen. She isn't expecting much for a safehouse, but there's a half used box of spaghetti and a can of sauce that hasn't expired yet, so that's something. 

The stove works, though the burners heat unevenly so the pasta is done way before the sauce is ready. Whatever, food is food at this point. Shitty Power Bars only get you so far. She's able to pretend she isn't nervous at how much time has passed since James left if she focuses on the slowly-heating sauce. Kind of. Mostly not. Though she does laugh a bit over the fact that she looks like a flamingo standing on one leg to keep weight off her ankle. 

The clock above the stove tells her it's been forty-five minutes since James left when she hears a creak on the porch. Darcy stills, her hand hovering over the gun on the counter. She could just be hearing things, it's an old house, but then the door handle is turning. Darcy grabs the gun and turns, aiming it at the door.

The door doesn't open more than a few inches though, not before she hears, "It's me," and she can breathe again. She sighs in relief and sets the gun down, watching as he steps in, eyeing her warily. 

"No shooting you," she says, nodding to where the gun is sitting next to the empty sauce jar. "I'm polite like that." James makes his way over and takes the gun back before looking over her shoulder at what she's doing. "I assumed you wouldn't mind," she says.

"Not at all," he says with a shrug. He moves around the kitchen, hand very lightly touching her hip when he passes by to get to the cabinet with bowls. He yanks his hand away quickly, like he thinks he isn't allowed to touch, and she wonders just how long it's been since someone touched him with kindness. Since he felt someone who wasn't HYDRA.

They eat quietly at the small kitchen table, just barely enough room for their plates. She thinks she's been gone maybe thirty-six hours? She isn't sure. Has anyone noticed she's gone? She likes to think that Jane would notice if she didn't show up, but honestly it depends on the day. Darcy likes to think she's reliable, but she knows Jane sees her as flighty, so if she doesn't come in on a Friday, Jane might not think anything of it. And they didn't have any plans this weekend, so if she doesn't notice until Monday...

"Hey," James murmurs, nudging her with his elbow. "What's going on in there?"

"Just thinking," she says with a shrug. "I doubt anyone notices I'm gone. And I don't mean that in a whining, oh woe is me, no one cares kind of way, but like, what if Jane's a target and she doesn't even know? What if they're using me to get her and she just walks outside and gets scooped up? But also I know we can't call her because what if her phone's being monitored?"

"Who's Jane?" James asked.

"My boss. And best friend. Thor's girlfriend," she says. "Half the threats on her are because she's a genius and half are because of who she dates, so at this point I don't know why HYDRA would want her."

"Probably both," James says. "Hydra is interested in any new technology they can get their hands on and it sounds like she'd have access."

"Great," Darcy says.

"We'll leave here tomorrow," James says. "We can call her from a burner phone when we go and let her know you're okay."

"Okay, thanks," Darcy says. There's relief, but still a knot of anxiety in her stomach that she knows won't go away completely until she hears Jane's voice. "Where are we going tomorrow?"

"You said you live with the Avengers," James says. "We'll go that way."

"I didn't _say_ that," she says. He gives her a look. "Okay, it was heavily implied, whatever."

"You'll be safe there. Steve - Steve will keep you safe," James says, looking down at his empty plate.

"So you're gonna drop me off and run?" she asks.

"They're more interested in me than you. They'll follow me."

"You know, if you wanted to come back with me, you'd be more than welcome," she says quietly. She hesitates for a second before reaching out slowly, resting her hand on his. The flesh hand, because the metal one is in his lap and out of her sight. "Steve would be happy to see you. I mean, there are downsides. You'd be stuck with me a lot because I've decided you're my friend, so I'd probably pester you a lot, but I figure you can deal with that."

James looks up at her, his expression a mix of confusion, pain, and longing. He _wants_ to, she realizes. He wants to come with her and see Steve again, he wants to be done with running. She just thinks he doesn't know how, or doesn't think he deserves it. She has a feeling his Catholic roots are coming out, making him think he needs penance for what he's done, even though he wasn't in control.

"Just think about it?" she asks. 

James' hand twitches under hers and she's sure he's about to pull away. Instead, he turns his hand, wrapping his fingers around hers. It's tentative, like he's ready for her to yank her hand back, but fuck that shit. She's decided James Barnes is hers now. He's one of the people she counts as _her_ people, as the tulips in her garden, the doughnuts in her box, whatever. He's one of hers now. 

Darcy squeezes his hand gently, not wanting to scare him off, and smiles, letting him know it's all right. His shoulders sag in relief, releasing tension she hadn't even noticed he was carrying. She's careful not to look pitying because no one likes that, but man, she wants to wrap James up in a blanket and hide him from all the bad in the world. 

"I'll think about it," he says eventually.

"Good," she says. "And hey, thank you for saving my life and all." 

"Don't ever have to thank me for that," he says. 

"Just the same, I'm alive because of you," she says. His hand spasms under hers and she wonders when the last time he believed that was. Probably the war. "Thank you."

James won't let her stand when she's done eating, taking the dishes to the sink and digging out a first aid kit from a cabinet. She tugs the leg of her leggings up past her calf, letting him draw her ankle into his lap. 

"Should have done this earlier," he says, shaking his head. "Wasn't thinking."

"I pointed a gun at you then shoved pasta in your face," she says with a shrug. "And to be fair, I may have mauled you if you tried to come between me and food."

James snorts and shakes his head, long strands of hair hanging in front of his eyes. The makeshift wrap had stayed on surprisingly well, but she's looking forward to an actual bandage wrap. His fingers are gentle as he unwraps the sweatshirt sleeve from her ankle, touch light as he checks for bruising. 

"Swelling isn't too bad," he says. "How does it feel?"

"Not great, but not the worst," she says. "Hobble-able."

"I'll take it," James says.

James insists she takes the bed and won't answer when she asks if he plans on sleeping at all. He gives her a stale-smelling t-shirt and sweats from the dresser to sleep in and man she's looking forward to having her own clothes clean again. Still, his feel good, even if they're comically big on her. The blanket is a bit dusty and the mattress a bit firm, but considering the cot she slept on in the cell, this is a five-star hotel. She's out like a light.

She dreams, but not of anything concrete. There are images, flashes in her mind. Jane and Thor laughing. HYDRA men running down the hall. The hallway at Culver she had to take everyday to get to her dorm. James standing in front of her, eyes blank. Clint's dog, Lucky, barking at the Christmas tree. Her fridge full of yogurt. James laughing, head thrown back. His hands tangled with hers, him leaning closer...

Darcy wakes suddenly and she isn't sure why, freezing when she sees someone standing in the doorway. It takes a second for her eyes to adjust and recognize who it is.

"James?" she asks, voice rough with sleep.

"Sorry," James says softly. "I heard you talking. I thought you were awake."

"Oh, sorry," she says, sitting up. She rubs at her tired eyes. "I sleep talk. Always dumb stuff like 'two crows fry a blue potato' or something."

"You said my name," James says.

Darcy blushes bright red and wonders just how good his super soldier vision is. "Oh," she says.

"And 'Jane lost my banana shoes'," he says.

Darcy snorts. "Yeah, sounds about right," she says. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"I was up," he says. "Go back to sleep, we have a few hours 'til we leave."

"It's fine," she says, slipping out of bed. "I won't get back to sleep."

"Sorry," he says, actually looking a bit ashamed.

"Nah, I would have woken up anyway," she says, patting his arm as she walks by on her way to the bathroom. "No worries, James."

She's noticed something in the past day or so. Whenever she says his name, his face does a thing. She'd thought it was pained at first, but it's more than that. He looks raw for just that split second, like he hasn't heard his name in so long that he wasn't really sure it's his. She's going to make a point to say it when she can.

James reaches out when she passes, metal fingers gently encircling her wrist. She stops, looking up at him in question. He looks softer in just a t-shirt and sweats, more lost than he did earlier. He doesn't say anything, doesn't even look like he knows why he stopped her.

"You good?" she asks.

"You're not afraid of me," he says. It's not a question, but he sounds so confused that she answers anyway.

"I mean, no? If you wanted to hurt me, you would have. You've gone out of your way to keep me alive so I figure we're good," she says.

"I could," he says, looking pained at the thought. "If they trigger me again, if I accidentally - "

"They already tried," she says. She twists her wrist, brushing her fingers against his. "And you saved me anyway."

James swallows hard and lets his hand fall away. He doesn't say anything for a long time before finally nodding and stepping back. Yep, he is absolutely one of hers now.

They leave a couple hours later after they each shower and James wraps Darcy's ankle again, leaving enough room to fit in her boot if she ties to laces loosely. He has a car waiting in the garage, a slightly beat-up crossover with slightly tinted windows, nothing that will raise any eyebrows. The sun has barely risen before they're pulling out, heading to the freeway.

Neither one of them is apparently feeling chatty because for the first hour or so, conversation is minimal. She'll ask occasionally about his route choice, how he decides when to double back, things like that. He answers her and doesn't seem irritated at her questions, but doesn't try to engage her in conversation more. She thinks he's still off-kilter from earlier, which is fair, but there's no chance she's letting him pull away and do the strong, silent thing.

They're only a few hours away from the tower by her estimate, but James is taking a circuitous route so she has no idea how long it'll actually be. Her bladder is not content to wait, though. 

"So, how opposed are you to a bathroom break?" she asks. "Because that's a thing I'm gonna need."

James furrows his brows, thinking. She tries not to impatiently bounce her leg because now that she's acknowledged the need to pee, it's just so much worse.

"There's a rest stop in twenty miles or gas station at the next exit," he says.

"Yeah, this is a next exit situation," she says. "I'd say sorry, but it's not your tiny bladder, so..."

James snorts and shakes his head. "It's fine."

The gas station isn't too busy this time of the morning, thankfully. James parks and walks in with her, watching their surroundings like a hawk. She walks past the aisles of junk food and drink coolers to the small bathroom in the back corner of the mini mart. It's just as gross as she'd expected, but at this point she doesn't care, as long as she has hot water and soap to wash her hands when she's done.

James is waiting outside the bathroom door when she's done. He nods toward the counter and says, "Grab anything you need to eat or drink. We'll call Jane from the payphone outside and get going."

Darcy nods, taking a left to grab a bag of Doritos while James goes to the coolers for water. She glances up to the TV behind the counter where the attendant is sitting. He's busy looking at his phone, but there on the screen are her and James' pictures. Panic seizes in her chest. The TV is on mute but there are subtitles, subtitles that say he kidnapped her, that he's armed and extremely dangerous. She stares at the news report, jaw hanging open. The bell over the door rings and she looks to see a cop coming in, heading for the counter. He's pointing at the screen, saying something she can't hear, but she's pretty sure it's about them. Oh god.

James is suddenly behind her, one hand over her mouth, the other wrapped around her belly, holding her tightly to him. He tugs her behind an endcap piled high with chips, hiding them from view. Her heart is beating very fast and at any other time, she'd bite if someone covered her mouth, but she's pretty close to fear babbling so this is probably for the best.

"We're going out the back door by the restrooms," he says lowly. "If we get separated, you get to the truck and drive. There's a key under the floor mat." 

Darcy shakes her head at that because there's no way in hell she's leaving without him. It becomes a moot point in a minute anyway because she can see another cop outside, coming in the back door. He's going to see them in a second and they're going to be fucked either way. James curses under his breath, tells her, "Follow me when it's clear," and moves, darting to the back door. The cop is young and looks shocked for a split second before James' fist connects to his face, dropping him instantly.

"Hey!" the station attendant shouts, followed quickly by the other cop shouting, "Freeze!"

Darcy peeks through the bags of chips. The attendant is hiding behind the counter, the other cop standing with his gun pointed at James. He looks even younger than the first, his hands shaking and oh, he's just a second away from from shooting James. It's then that Darcy makes a very bad decision. She rushes out from behind the endcap, skidding to a stop in front of James, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She throws her arms out to side, trying to block as much of him as she can.

"No!" she shouts. 

"Ma'am!" the cop says, eyes wide. "Ma'am, please step aside!"

"Darcy, you gotta move, doll," James hisses under his breath. He sounds scared, as scared as when Hydra triggered him. He touches her back, tries to move her slowly away from him, but he can't force her without hurting her, and he knows it. "Darcy, _please._ "

"He didn't kidnap me, he's innocent!" she says.

"He's on three most wanted lists!" the cop says. "Ma'am, for your own good, move aside!"

"Darcy..."

It happens in a split second. A semi-truck pulling in honks at a pedestrian, the cops jerks in shock, and he fires. The shot is wide, hitting the floor to ceiling window next to them, shattering it. James doesn't hesitate, yanking her out of the empty window frame and around the corner of the gas station. Darcy's run is pathetic with her limp, but James stays with her, looking behind them to make sure the cop hasn't followed them yet.

Darcy flings herself into the passenger seat and a moment later, James slides into the driver's side. They're peeling out of the parking lot while the cop is just barely making it out of the gas station door, looking panicked. James floors it onto the freeway, speeding past all the other cars. She doesn't know if the cops saw their license plate or not, but he's putting as much distance between them as he can before switching cars.

"Are you okay?" he asks, glancing over.

"Yeah," she says. She has a few tiny cuts from the shattering glass but nothing major. 

"Don't do that again," James says. His hands are tight on the steering wheel, the fake leather creaking under his grip. "Don't _ever_ \- are you insane? Why would you do that?"

"He was going to shoot you!"

"And he almost shot you, too!" he says. "Don't throw yourself in front of a gun, not for me!"

"I will throw myself in front of whatever guns I want!" she says.

James curses, shooting a glare at her before taking a sharp right, exiting off the freeway. She grabs the oh shit handle as he whips around the curve of the exit, pulling into a big grocery store parking lot. 

"We're switching cars now," he says. "Before they get enough time to coordinate a search for this one. Stay here until I come back."

He doesn't wait for an answer before getting out, slamming the door behind him. Darcy grabs the backpack he'd tossed in the backseat and gets ready, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart. She doesn't _want_ to jump in front of any guns, but she wants to argue against being told what to do even more. She wants to rail against his belief that he deserves to be shot, because she's pretty sure that's part of it.

Darcy hops out when he pulls alongside in a grey sedan, tossing his backpack in the back seat and getting in the passenger side. They're only there a few minutes before they're off again, driving at a more sedate, less suspicious pace.

"So I guess Jane noticed I'm gone," Darcy says.

"Or HYDRA released the story," James says. His voice is still tight and angry, but she recognizes the fear that's driving it. "They'd wait for the police to spot us then follow the trail from there."

"Hey," Darcy says quietly. She reaches out slowly, resting her hand on his shoulder. He glances over at her but says nothing, and he doesn't shrug her off. "I'm sorry I scared you, but I couldn't let him just kill you."

James lets out a harsh breath, shaking his head. "You got a big heart, doll. And I don't want it to get you killed."

"Well yeah dude, same," she says, taking her hand back and nudging him with her elbow. "It's not high on my list either."

James shakes his head, but the tension in his shoulders lessens, his fingers on the wheels relaxing a bit. So that's something.

They're about an hour out when they start hitting traffic, and Darcy has never hated other drivers more in her life. They're so close to safety but so far because people won't drive. Their. Damn. Cars. Fuckers.

"Was traffic an issue back in the day?" Darcy asks. "Did you have bumper to bumper messes?"

"Yeah, but not like this," James says. "The roads were worse, but we didn't have as many people."

"I feel like we'd get there faster if we jogged," she says.

"I would," he says, looking pointedly at her wrapped ankle.

"Yeah, fine, fair."

She's expecting something to happen, maybe a car to slam into them from behind, or someone to parachute out of the sky for them, but nothing comes. It's winding her tighter and tighter, making her bounce her leg and pick at the holes in the legs of her pants. James reaches over at one point, covering her hands in one of his, stilling her leg. 

"Sorry," she says.

"It's fine."

It's only another half hour after that when they're pulling up to the tower, Darcy directing James to the right gated garage entrance. She doesn't have her keycard, something HYDRA liberated her of, so she has James hit the intercom button that goes directly to security. 

_"This is the entrance for employees with high security access only,"_ the voice tells him.

Darcy leans over James so the camera over the intercom can see her. "This is Darcy Lewis, employee number A425N7. I was kidnapped by Hydra and would really like to come in now!" 

There's silence for a long moment, then, _"Darcy?"_

"Happy! Oh my god, please let us in, I'm about three seconds from combusting."

_"Go ahead, go down to level three. Thor's already on his way down."_ The gate in front of them starts opening before Happy's even finished talking.

"Yes! Thank you, Happy!" she says. She leans back into her own seat and says, "Drive, drive, drive."

James looks at her in mild amusement but does as she says, driving down into the garage until they hit the third level, guarded by another gate that opens when they drive near. There's plenty of room and James backs into a spot close to the gate, like he's expecting he might need to make a quick getaway. Darcy grabs his hand after he puts the car in park and turns off the ignition. 

"Hey," she says quietly. "I meant it. You're more than welcome to stay. You don't have to rush out of here."

James looks at her for a long time, his hand tight around hers. "Yeah," he says slowly. "Yeah, maybe."

Darcy grins and leans in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, before open the door and stepping out, James getting out a second later. There's a soft ding from the elevator bank across the garage, then the doors open to reveal Thor dressed in his Earth best, jeans and a t-shirt. He looks relieved to see her and she almost starts crying from that alone.

"Darcy!" he shouts.

James makes an aborted movement as Thor rushes to them, but doesn't reach for any weapons.

"He's a friend," Darcy promises. A second later Thor is whisking her into his arms, her feet entirely leaving the ground as he hugs her tightly. Thor really does give the best bear hugs. "Hey, big guy."

"We were worried," Thor says. "Jane's been distraught." He cups her cheek gently in one huge hand, tilting her head to the side. His face goes murderous when he sees the dark bruise spanning the side of her face, courtesy of HYDRA.

"I'm right here, we got out," Darcy says. Thor looks over her shoulder at James when she says 'we'. "This is James. He's a friend, he saved my life like...three times now?"

"The gas station doesn't count," James says.

"It does so!"

"I think it was you saving me, Ms. Jump-In-Front-Of-A-Gun," James says.

"Ixn-ay on the un-gay," Darcy says, shaking her head, but Thor's already heard.

"Darcy," Thor says lowly.

"Anyway! Steve's friend is here, I haven't had clean clothes in like two days, and I'd really like to go inside now," Darcy says.

"Of course," Thor says, setting her back on her feet. She winces a bit when her weight goes back on her bad ankle. Thor doesn't miss it. "You're hurt."

"Just a twisted ankle," Darcy tells him, patting him on the arm. "Us mortals and our weak little joints."

"You should have a professional look at it," James says.

"Agreed," Thor says. "Dr. Cho is waiting anyway."

"Ugh, fine." Traitors, the both of them. Of course they would team up against her. Well, at least they aren't fighting, which she considered a very real possibility. Either that or they'd love each other. Thor offers to carry her, but she waves him off, trying to save a little dignity here. James steps forward, wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her limp to the elevator door. Thor nods approvingly. Figures.

"Captain Rogers is out of state at the moment. He's on his way back with Natasha," Thor tells them. James tenses at her side. "I won't stop you if you wish to leave, though I could. I pray you consider staying."

Darcy looks at him, trying to keep the hope off her face. She doesn't want him to stay just because he feels some misplaced guilt over her getting hurt, but she wants him here. James studies her face for a long moment before nodding slowly.

"I'll be here when he gets here," he says.

Darcy can't hide her grin.

Jane is waiting with Dr. Cho in Medical. She almost flings herself at Darcy, but notices James supporting her, notices the limp, and reins herself in. She hugs Darcy but manages not to crash tackle her like last time, so that's nice at least.

"Oh my god when you didn't come back I thought you'd been murdered, then Thor couldn't find you, and Tony found surveillance camera footage of you being grabbed and oh my god!" Jane babbles, tugging her in for another hug. James carefully extracts his arm from around Darcy so she can be held properly, but a second later Jane is letting go and flinging her arms around him too.

"Uh," he says, looking at Darcy with alarmed eyes. 

"You helped her oh my god thank you," Jane says. Apparently being the Winter Soldier doesn't matter to her as much as being the person that saved her friend. Darcy feels quite special. James pats her awkwardly on the back.

Jane stays with them while Dr. Cho looks over Darcy's ankle, complimenting the way James wrapped it. They were right, a mild sprain that should heal in a few days. She cleans the small cuts on Darcy's arms and a few on her face from the glass shattering. It's only when she's done and asks James if he's injured that he nods tugging up the side of his shirt.

"You were _shot_?" Darcy says a bit louder than she'd intended. "And you didn't tell me?!"

"It was just ricochet from the gas station," he says with a shrug.

"It's still a _bullet_ in your _body_! How did I not see that?"

James just shrugs. "It was on my left side, so you couldn't see it from where you were sitting." Men, honestly. He looks uncomfortable at the thought of being taken away into another room to be looked over, so Dr. Cho compromises and says they can stay in the same room as Darcy as long as she wears a mask and doesn't prod the bullet wound.

"Not a problem," Darcy says. "I want no part in that."

Darcy resolutely looks at James' face instead of where Dr. Cho is carefully digging the bullet fragment out of his side. He'd refused point blank to be put under so she'd given him a local anesthetic. She keeps having to give him more because his super soldier metabolism makes it wear off so fast, but she has experience with Steve and knows what to do. They really are lucky to have her around.

"What's next, doll?" James asks.

"I figure we've earned real food," Darcy says. "Then a nap for like a fifteen hours. Though I'm pretty sure Steve is gonna want to hug you for like an hour at least so we might have to pry you loose."

James snorts at that but doesn't disagree. 

Dr. Cho declares them free to go with a big list of dos and don'ts for both of them. There's not a thing in there about no chicken nuggets or pizza rolls so Darcy makes that her first order of business, right after giving her apartment a drive-by for a change of clothes. There's a communal kitchen on the floor she shares with Jane and Thor, the fridge stocked with easy to prepare food for when they're too exhausted to bother cooking. Frozen nuggets and pizza rolls may not be gourmet, but she's not a fancy bitch, she doesn't care.

Jane and Thor join them, Jane not willing to leave Darcy alone now that she has her back, and Thor seems to be content to keep her close, too. She really does have the best friends. James also looks to be in no rush to be away from her. His eyes follow her when she gets up to get more water, to pull the food out of the oven, when she walks out to use the bathroom, and his eyes find her immediately when she walks back in. She wonders if it's imprinting, like a baby duck. Or maybe he just hasn't had a friendly face in a while. 

Darcy, always one for distraction, doesn't want to deal with recounting the whole kidnapping story, especially when she knows Steve and co. will want to hear it when they get back and she'd really rather just say it all once. So she asks Thor to tell them about the time he and Sif had to rescue the Warriors Three from the nest of what sounds like a dragon. Thor gives her a look that says he knows exactly what she's doing, but bless him, he tells it anyway.

James is loudly laughing as Thor describe Fandral trying to wring purple dragon blood out of his hair when Jarvis politely interrupts them to let them know Steve's Quinjet has arrived. The laughter dies on James' face, worry replacing it. Thor and Jane step away, very not subtly bye the by, to give them a bit of space.

Darcy stands and rounds the table, stopping to stand in front of him. "He's going to be happy to see you," she says, reaching down for his hand. He gives it to her easily, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

"I'm not the man he remembers," James says quietly. "I'm not the same."

"Neither is he," Darcy says. "But he's going to be happy you're here anyway."

James nods, though he's still a frowning a bit. They hear the elevator ding down the hall, followed by a loud voice that she easily recognizes as belonging to Steve and a softer one that's definitely Natasha. James kisses her hand before standing, stepping to the side.

Steve and Natasha still in the doorway, taking in her and James standing next to the kitchen table. Then Steve is crossing the room, yanking James into what must be a bone crushing hug. James looks surprised for a second, but slowly hugs him back. Darcy smiles and steps back, moving over to where Natasha is talking quietly to Thor and Jane.

"Are you all right, _zaika_?" Natasha asks, eyes tracing over bruise and the cuts down to her wrapped ankle.

"Yeah, nothing a few good nights' sleep and some therapy won't fix," she says flippantly. Natasha gives her a hard look and Darcy sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm fine. Just, you know, some light trauma."

"Did he hurt you?" she asks.

"Who?" she asks. "James?! No, no. Even when they triggered him, he - "

"They triggered him?" Natasha asks sharply. 

"It's fine," Darcy says though Natasha's face says she clearly it certainly is _not_. "He saved me, at least two times."

"At least?"

"We're fighting about the third time."

Natasha doesn't say anything, just looks at her and Darcy has the distinct feeling she's going to be watching James like a hawk. Thor says something quietly to Natasha and she nods, speaking to him in a low voice.

James glances over at her, looking a bit overwhelmed. She grins and gives him double thumbs up, feeling like an idiot even as she does it, but he smiles slightly, shoulders relaxing a bit before turning his attention back to Steve.

"Uh oh," Jane says, walking away from Thor to be closer to her. "You have that look."

"What look?"

"The 'I've added someone to my people' look," Jane says.

"Well, I mean..." Darcy trails off, not sure where she was going with that. "Yeah. It's like you and Erik. And Thor. And Clint. You're my people, and there's room in the basket for him."

"Oh, Darcy. You sure know how to pick 'em."

Darcy just shrugs because, well, she's not wrong. Steve says something that has James shrugging then looking at her. A second later he's walking over, looking a bit apprehensive. She's sure Natasha is poised like a viper behind her, but James either ignores her or is very good at pretending. 

"Steve wants to talk somewhere private," he says, looking a bit torn. Besides the five minutes it took them to change clothes earlier, it'll really be the first time he's away from her in a few days.

"I'll be around," she says. "I told you, you're stuck with me now."

James gives her a small smile, looking relieved. He leans in, ignoring the small sound Natasha makes, and kisses Darcy's forehead. 

"I'll find you later," he says quietly.

"Good," Darcy says. "Go, enjoy your reunion. Don't let him order from that shitty pizza place down the block. And don't let him give you La Croix, it tastes like cough drop water."

James nods with a small smile and goes back to Steve, following him out. When Darcy turns back to Thor, Jane, and Natasha, they all have obnoxiously knowing looks on their faces.

"Oh," Natasha says, smirking slightly.

"Oh shut up."

Yeah, he's totally one of hers.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on [ tumblr ](http://www.hotpinklizard.tumblr.com).


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